[Mr.Sneis]

I keep getting told to only use M but I really see the value of Aperture and Shutter priority; feel like those who say to only shoot M are M mode elitists

 

[Frank I]

My courses classes were all with manual training but I met a great photographer at a track meet and picked his brain and he showed me quite a bit and learned more than I did in the detailed classes from him shooting. I also learned  from leeshure by taking trips to his studio and Lee also shoots AP for sports. He is a professional also and does all the Schiit product shoots and has done Red Wine and others so Lee is very accessible for me. I also learn looking at flickr shots and see what settings were used on the shots. Jamato also has some outstanding pictures and his advice was to shott lots of shots and keep shooting . it all takes time and watching Youtube  also helps me.

 

[bigshot]

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I keep getting told to only use M but I really see the value of Aperture and Shutter priority; feel like those who say to only shoot M are M mode elitists

 
I've never understood why people buy 21st century cameras and use them as if they were back in the 1960s.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Seems there are those who say shoot a lot, shoot everything.  Versus those who say shoot when you get the shot setup right and the lighting, everything else is a waste.
 
I admit I try my best to stay in M mode as much as possible but I dislike having to fiddle with Aperture and Shutter speed in M mode when shooting candidly aka when you don't want to be caught with your pants down.  I do like auto-ISO a lot actually, manually setting the ISO seems best when the shots are more important but auto ISO also helps me to dial in the sweet spot of exposure ie when auto iso is as low as possible.  I'm probably doing it all wrong!

 

[Frank I]

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Seems there are those who say shoot a lot, shoot everything.  Versus those who say shoot when you get the shot setup right and the lighting, everything else is a waste.
 
I admit I try my best to stay in M mode as much as possible but I dislike having to fiddle with Aperture and Shutter speed in M mode when shooting candidly aka when you don't want to be caught with your pants down.  I do like auto-ISO a lot actually, manually setting the ISO seems best when the shots are more important but auto ISO also helps me to dial in the sweet spot of exposure ie when auto iso is as low as possible.  I'm probably doing it all wrong!

I use the lowest iso setting and use auto iso for most of my shooting but when I shoot indoor track meets If I shoot AP which I do I have to set the min to 1000 to get the fast shutter speeds. This works well for me and I get good exposure. If I shoot landscape or walk around shots I set my ISO outdoors rot 100 and shoot manual.  I had good success with those type of shots. I use the auto iso feature on the d7000 as well as auto white balance.  I think for me I have only been at it for less than a year and still getting to know my camera and what I can and cannot do.  So far I have my track meets down pat now and when the weather starts warming a bit I will get down to the NJ shore and start shooting landscape again. Usually at a track meet I shoot 500 pictures.  I need to start doing the same for landscape shots. Next meet I am going to use a monopod with the 55-300MM lens for the NCAA Eastern States Championship race in Boston on 3/2. There will be two Olympian hopefuls in the womens 5K. I  have shot from the 15:44 the Providence Junior ran at the the BU Invitational three weeks ago.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

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Beautiful!  Mind if I ask how you got those shots or any tips?  In AZ we have a lot of views like this but I'm never in the right places at the right times.

 
The Horseshoe Bend shot was just minutes after sunrise.  Often shooting just before/after sunrise/sunset can be the key to getting a shot with beautiful light that doesn't look the same during the rest of the day.  Now granted, the other shots in that post weren't taken during the so-called "golden hours," but I was able to find pleasant lighting nonethless.  The two B&W photos were a question of finding interesting details in shadowed areas, receiving soft, diffuse light reflected off other rock formations.   Time of day, time of year, and weather conditions all play a large role in getting good light for outdoor scenes.  Sometimes you work with what you've got, but other times, it's best to just turn back, knowing that you wouldn't get the shot, because the light isn't right.
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I am curious what lens and f stop were used. Did you shoot manual? What were the settings? Some pro like Tony Sweet shoots Aperture Priority.  I shoot most of my sports events like track and Field on AP at the lowest setting with an iso of 1000 to give me the higher shutter speeds and its working out well for me. landscape I use all manual settings and msot of my shots are with my 10-24MM lens.

 
Three of the four were shot using the Nikon 14-24/2.8, the other the 24-120/4, I use f/5.6-f/8 the most for these kinds of shots on the D800, depending on the focal length, lens' max. aperture, and DOF requirements for the scene.  F/5.6 is better if it can be used, as diffraction starts to rob a small bit of acuity at f/8 on the D800.  What a change from the D700, where f/11 was where diffraction started to be slightly noticeable.
 
I'm a manual mode shooter these days, as I have a good grasp of the lighting and what I'd like to do with it, so I find it easier to just dial in what I want, rather than tango with an automatic mode on the camera to get what I want.  Also, I enjoy that when I recompose, my exposure doesn't change, unless I change it.  ISO at base for this type of shooting, use a tripod, and let the shutter speed fall where it may.  Of course, astrophotography scenes, and those involving moving water or leaves are a whole different ball o' wax.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Wow I didn't realize that the body has such a big effect on when diffraction sets in.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Yeah, it does. it's a matter of megapixels per sensor size.  Check out the calculator about halfway down the following link.  Diffraction starts to become visible in the image before the sensor is completely diffraction-limited.  Usually the diffraction-limited aperture is still useful (but softer), and the next aperture stop is quite soft.  As such, I used f/16 when I had to on the D700, but avoided f/22 : http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

 

[Frank I]

 What the best advice you can give to someone starting in the hobby? I am still learning  and need to ramp up some more. I have been to classes and now I read extensively and thanks for that site its pretty interesting and a good resource. 

 

[jude]

I was playing with photographing the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies, as the thick glass top is an interesting challenge to shoot (challenging for my novice skills anyway).
 
I shot this one using long exposure (five seconds) to capture the glow of the "fireflies," and used the modeling lights on two monolights for the light (set at or near their lowest settings). One of the lights was gridded for the spot, and the other was softboxed front-left (with a reflector at right to light the right side of the WA7).
 
The color is still too warm (the modeling lights have a warmer cast than the actual flashes), but there's nobody else in the building right now to help me get it right. (I have some color blindness, and I'm apt to go too far in the other direction without someone else to say "stop.")
 
It's framed this way to accommodate some text in the dark area.
 

 

[Frank I]

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I was playing with photographing the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies, as the thick glass top is an interesting challenge to shoot (challenging for my novice skills anyway).
 
I shot this one using long exposure (five seconds) to capture the glow of the "fireflies," and used the modeling lights on two monolights for the light (set at or near their lowest settings). One of the lights was gridded for the spot, and the other was softboxed front-left (with a reflector at right to light the right side of the WA7).
 
The color is still too warm (the modeling lights have a warmer cast than the actual flashes), but there's nobody else in the building right now to help me get it right. (I have some color blindness, and I'm apt to go too far in the other direction without someone else to say "stop.")
 
It's framed this way to accommodate some text in the dark area.
 

Nice shot. i will experiment when the Taboo MK111 get here that I will be reviewing int he next couple of weeks. I may ask Leesure to help me with the pictures as I am still a novice too.

 

[bigshot]

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Seems there are those who say shoot a lot, shoot everything.  Versus those who say shoot when you get the shot setup right and the lighting, everything else is a waste.

 
Different types of photography require different approaches. Everyone shoots different. I do mostly street photography and informal shots of people. This means I have to keep out of the way and grab moments quickly when they pop up. I don't shoot a lot of photos because I don't want to call attention to the fact that I am photographing. My camera stays hidden in a bag turned on with no lens cap until I see what I want. Then I quickly take it out, compose and shoot as fast as I can. I keep a lot of things automated because I am MUCH more interested in the creative aspects of composition and capturing personality than I am worrying about apertures and white balances. I may only shoot a dozen shots in an outing, but most of them end up being good. I learned back in the film days to be frugal with film and generous with creativity.

 

[Frank I]

When you shoot a track meet there are many events and races. I also shoot continuos so there are many shots. i then sort through the best shots for the portfolio I am creating for my daughters track meets. Because the events and the races are fast It could end up being many shots. When I go out for landscapes I shoot way less pictures . I may spend three hours shooting different landscapes and have many less shots as I am also using a tripod and setting up the shots more than when I shoot the Track meets. My daughter 5K races sometimes i shoot 50-60 pictures in a 5K race less for just the 3K she runs for cross count 6K I am all over the course and can take 100 shots in a race. There is not time to set up the shots at track meets its very fast paced and there is not much room to set yup anything more than a monopod.
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Seems there are those who say shoot a lot, shoot everything.  

 

[hyogen]

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 What the best advice you can give to someone starting in the hobby? I am still learning  and need to ramp up some more. I have been to classes and now I read extensively and thanks for that site its pretty interesting and a good resource. 

 
what is your budget?     What do you currently have?

 

[Frank I]

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what is your budget?     What do you currently have?

not for my gear I hav eall my stuff listed. i want the pros to give advice on the best way to shoot not gear. I am fine with my gear